mctallica1
Well-known member
Funny thing is, even thought I don't use all the capabilities of my Standard, I am starting to feel like I need an Ultra. No idea why 
SkyhighRocks
New member
mctallica1":ier4035c said:Funny thing is, even thought I don't use all the capabilities of my Standard, I am starting to feel like I need an Ultra. No idea why
Ultra rules.
1
1big1
New member
no gas here. i've got enough to do keeping my current gear in playable condition. 
robb
New member
my 2 cents...
Super wet with effects is not my sound. I hear all the clips and think, "wow, that's a lot of reverb, delay, kitchen sink." And the reply from the board is "wow that sound awesome, it's so real"
I guess because my sound is a straight up dry overdriven Marshall none of the clips I've heard appeal to me. I heard one in person and thought the same thing. Turn off all the bullshit effects and lets hear the models all by themselves.
Super wet with effects is not my sound. I hear all the clips and think, "wow, that's a lot of reverb, delay, kitchen sink." And the reply from the board is "wow that sound awesome, it's so real"
I guess because my sound is a straight up dry overdriven Marshall none of the clips I've heard appeal to me. I heard one in person and thought the same thing. Turn off all the bullshit effects and lets hear the models all by themselves.
photios
New member
photios":13b67jc4 said:
prolly shouldn't be digging up an old thread here...especially when the goal is try to tamp down the AXE GAS...but,
I have to eat some crow and confess that I now use the AXE exclusively as my #1 rig...and I've done so for the past year. When I first tried the AXE it was over 3 years ago and I had one of the first one's out with the earliest firmware versions. Didn't work for me at all outta the box and since I only had a 2 week trial period, I gave it a cursory trial and then sent it back and swore it off...even became a critic of the AXE.
Then version 6 came along late in 2008. A friend of mine (a pro player from an 80's hair band) let me play it at his professional studio...and I got intrigued by the tone...so much that I bought my own AXE a week later.
This time around I bought my AXE used so I wasn't sweating the 2 week trial. I decided to give it some time and really explore the "ins" and "outs" of the unit. Its very, very deep...especially for a dumb guitar player like me. IME, it requires way more than 2 weeks to decide if you can extract your tone from it. Don't get me wrong, the 2 week trial from Fractal is a nice offer, but its really insufficient to allow an honest assessment of the unit. The factory presets are pretty poor IMO and most aren't usable for a gigging guitarist. But in defense of Fractal, I think the factory presets are more aimed at showing of the power and flexibility of the unit than offering giggable patches to use. They inspire and perhaps give some a starting place to begin making their own patches...but for me, I started from scratch...a blank slate, and built my patches to my taste.
It took me 2 months of spending a several hours a day (I've been semi-retired since 2000) to learn how to skillfully navigate the unit and experiment with all the parameters. Its a steep and frustrating learning curve but one that finally led me to understand how to create patches and adjust the parameters to extract my tone. Its very time-consuming, but rewarding, to learn how the different settings interact with each other.
After working, re-working and re-working again many times, I finally got "my" tone. In fact, I think I've got the best tones I've ever had...and for those of you that know me, I'm an anal, cork-sniffing, tube snob. So for me to confess that a piece of digital gear gives me good tones is hard; to say that digital gives me great tones is painful; to say that it gives me the best tones I've ever had is downright humbling.
But in the end, regardless of how I get that tone is not as important as the fact that the tone I get is the one I want. And for me the AXE can be dialed in to feel how I want my amp to feel and to sound how I want my amp to sound. As a result, my AXE has been my #1 now for a year...honeymoon is over...I've done many live shows with it and I'm totally diggin' it...absolutely rawks thru FOH and on stage with my FRFR monitor (FBT Verve 12MA)...sounds and feels like a killer tube amp thru a 4x12 for me.
No piece of gear is the "holy grail" so the AXE won't be for everyone. And I'm not saying the AXE doesnt have its short-comings. But it is a good piece of gear...and now time for me to start eatin...
fek
Well-known member
I would love to have one as long as it came with a full time person to program it to my liking. I hate to tweak. I played a standard at an amp fest a couple years ago and really liked the base tone I was getting but would go crazy trying to get it just a little bit better all the damn time.
A
Anonymous
Guest
until I play one in person I am not overly excited...I have no doubt I would love it though!
photios
New member
donbarzini":2fzvn497 said:
Your Honor, may I have permission to treat Mr. donbarzini as a hostile witness?
Gainfreak
New member
Well played!!!photios":2lgvv5e1 said:donbarzini":2lgvv5e1 said:
Your Honor, may I have permission to treat Mr. donbarzini as a hostile witness?
dfrattaroli
New member
Haha. Three pages of guys saying they don't want to even try one. Fucking hilarious.
mentoneman
Well-known member
no gas
bought one
kill fx
amps meh
I never had to change my b capacitance or tune my transformer hi and low pass to make my coyote sound killer every time I powered up
given the control available there should be magic examples of each amp in thr box stock, yet I only found a handful of decent amp presets in the 300+ factory presets
the day i plug my axefx into my studio monitors and mike landaus "roodis" and "buzzed" tones, Eric johnsons live "trail of tears" clean tones, SRV's "little wing" tones, and victor masons Mojave jtm 45 tones come out, I will be finished.
bought one
kill fx
amps meh
I never had to change my b capacitance or tune my transformer hi and low pass to make my coyote sound killer every time I powered up
given the control available there should be magic examples of each amp in thr box stock, yet I only found a handful of decent amp presets in the 300+ factory presets
the day i plug my axefx into my studio monitors and mike landaus "roodis" and "buzzed" tones, Eric johnsons live "trail of tears" clean tones, SRV's "little wing" tones, and victor masons Mojave jtm 45 tones come out, I will be finished.
AmpliFIRE
Well-known member
nope...still no GAS here 
gibson5413
Well-known member
photios":22jlbqql said:
That is awesome you found your tone but this is the exact reason why I have been waiting to give it a test run. I simply don't have the time to invest right now. I will own one someday. I have heard killer clips. The whole digital vs tube thing is asinine to me. I really don't care. I simply don't have the time right now. Plug and play is what my life is about right now. I'm sure you can plug and play with the Axe to some extent. I'm sure I will cross paths with it eventually.
Glad you found your tone. Make some clips!!
gibson5413
Well-known member
psychodave":3gmwwv51 said:I do have GAS for a Fortin amp
+1
9 more weeks and counting.
stratotone
Active member
mentoneman":1o0lehvq said:
C'mon Pat, it's a tweak. If you were having to change the settings each time you powered up the axe fx then it's a problem with you not saving patches, not the flexibility.
On the second point though you are dead on - they should include user patches like Dweezil's Eruption patch, etc... it seems like 99% of the presets are to show off the processing power of the unit, instead of actual tones.
I dig my Fractal but it's more of a swiss army knife than anything... if I need a killer fx unit, it's there... if I want to use the cab emulation with a line out from another amp or preamp, it's there, I can do modelling for direct recording, small gigs, etc. It's too useful to get rid of.
Pete
Dallas Marlow
Active member
No desire for one, IMHO for what it is it's cool but it's still no where near a good tube amp!
glassjaw7
Well-known member
In ten years, will there be a better sounding Axe-fx or similar unit? If the answer is yes, that they can improve the sound of digital modelers, then they are not yet up to snuff, at least compared to a good tube amp. There are tube amp designs that are considered to produce "the best" sounds available, and some of them are 50+ years old. Until they release a modeler that actually captures the full sound, feel, response, etc. of a tube amp, there will always be room for improvement, whereas IMO you just can't improve an amp such as say, a Mark IIc+.
That's no reason to not to own one though. The little bit of realism and feel that the axe lacks is more than made up for by it's ability to act as a light, portable live rig, recording unit, and effects processor. If I had the dough, I'd pick one up just to have for direct recording and probably some live use with a power amp and cab. There are several tube heads I would buy first though.
But hopefully by the time I have the amps I want and I'm ready to buy into the modeling craze again, the realism gap between tubes and modeling will close even more.
That's no reason to not to own one though. The little bit of realism and feel that the axe lacks is more than made up for by it's ability to act as a light, portable live rig, recording unit, and effects processor. If I had the dough, I'd pick one up just to have for direct recording and probably some live use with a power amp and cab. There are several tube heads I would buy first though.
But hopefully by the time I have the amps I want and I'm ready to buy into the modeling craze again, the realism gap between tubes and modeling will close even more.
photios
New member
glassjaw7":3qtg0hbs said:
Well put...I love my AXE but still own my tube amps. What I find with the AXE is that the little bit I miss vs a tube amp playing live, is made up for by not having to mic the AXE thru a cab. Not sure if anyone has ever listened to their guitar rig on stage, then mic'd their rig up, isolated their rig (no stage spill) and then listened to FOH...if you haven't compared those 2 sounds, you're in for a surprise.
I like the assurance of knowing that when I'm done tweaking the AXE to sound just how I want it thru my FRFR monitor, then my direct FOH tone is very, very similar. With few exceptions, my engineer keeps my EQ flat at the board...that way, I control my tone on stage and what the audience hears too. The way I see it, I'm the tone guy that has dialed in my rig to sound how I want it. My guitar tone that the audience hears is a big part of how I express myself as a musician and I don't want something to change that tone (mics) and/or a person to EQ that tone to their own tastes.
Unless live players are isolating their rig on stage and listening to their rig mic'd up thru FOH, they aren't exactly sure what the audience is hearing...is it good...maybe...and of course the engineer can roll off the highs, bass etc and tweak to his ear...but is it exactly like what you dialed in and adjusted on your amp...not likely.
When I perform the above experiment, and I'm fortunate to have a great situation that allows me to do it, I end up preferring my AXE over my mic'd tube amps thru FOH.
That said, ALL HAIL TUBE AMPS...they'll be burying me with my favorite Wizard Vintage Classic.
dfrattaroli
New member
To each their own. If you're not into it, then cool. That said, there are some dopey generalizations and rationale for not wanting. Wow.
J
JohnSykes
Member
I dont...